Brier Island Whales

The humpbacks are here!

2011-07-01T06:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Canada Day! Cruises have been fabulous in the Bay of Fundy as we continue to sight different humpback whales everyday! We are so pleased to report that we have sighted 5 mother calf pair already and it's only July 1st!

WE also conducted a research cruise and documented 19 individual humpback whales with lots of activity to boot!

June Sightings

2011-06-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

The season has started very well with sightings of humpbacks on every cruise. We are still just running our Zodiac (tm) for the time being as the Mega Nova is getting ready for its commencement on June 18. So far we have sighted 6 different humpbacks, 3 of which have been identified as Luna, Littlespot and #0034. There have also been sightings of minke whales and fin whales. Prey species (herring and krill) has been abundant, enticing the seabirds and cetaceans into the Bay. Some of the birds that have been sighted are Sooty Shearwaters, Greater Shearwaters, Puffins, and Razorbills. There's lots to see in the Bay of Fundy!

A Great Way to Start 2011!

2011-05-15T07:08:00.000-07:00

Whale watching in the Bay of Fundy has begun and off to a great start. Our first cruise was on May 14, 2011. Captain Jamie headed out towards the ledges just off Brier Island in search of cetaceans. About 6 miles out, he spotted a large back roll in the water and as he approached he determined that it was a fin whale, the largest baleen whale that we see here in the Bay of Fundy. This species can reach lengths of 25 metres! As they watched this lone whale, it would roll on its side and rush at its prey of krill and herring with its huge mouth agape, capturing its prey. What an awesome sight!

The Bay of Fundy is a summer feeding ground for many species of cetaceans (Whales, dolphins and porpoises) and seabirds. The Bay's strong tides drives nutrients to the surface, which feed the plankton, whcih then attracts small schooling fish on which the cetaceans and birds feed upon.

Job Opportunity for 2011

2011-01-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises has positions available for whale watch guides for the 2011 season. Applicant must hold a Marine Emergency Duty A2 certificate as well as valid First Aid and CPR certificates. For more information or to apply send email with resume and references to whales@brierislandwhalewatch.com

An Orca in the Bay of Fundy!

2010-09-15T04:40:00.000-07:00

What an awesome day! On September 14th, 2010 our Zodiac spotted a lone male Orca in the Bay of Fundy, a species that is extrememly rare to these waters! Usually orcas are found farther north in the Atlantic. When we saw this whale, it was chasing a group of dolphins who were obviously in distress. At one point the orca rolled and tail lobbed several times, and then the chase was on again. All of our passngers and crew were thrilled with the sighting, realizing what a priviledge to witness nature at its finest!

The whales are still here!

2010-09-10T03:27:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Earl had little effect on the whales of the Bay of Fundy, with sightings of humpbacks close by the island. On a recent cruise, we watched a group of 4 who were identified as Peajack,Froth, Tether and Cowlick. Peajack was her usual self, rolling and flipper slapping next to the boat. Her companions were not so active, just lazily swimming close by. We also watched Tigris and Foggy and her calf.

Bird sightings have been good as well as we are seeing lots of puffins in the area, as well as Greater Shearwaters, Northern Gannets, Red and Red Necked Phalaropes with a few sightings of Northern Fulmars. We have also noticed some laughing gulls in the area after the hurricane.

Sperm Whales in the Bay of Fundy!

2010-08-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

What next will we see? We were very surprised on August 28th to see a single Sperm whale on our morning cruise. Sperm whales are the largest toothed whale in the world that are usually only found in deep water such as in the mid Atlantic.

Being a toothed whale, they usually travel in groups but aging males will leave the bachelor groups and go off on their own. There have been other reports of this species in the Bay for the last two weeks. We also sighted a small group of Pilot whales a few days ago. What a priviledge to see these whales!

Up Close and Personal!

2010-08-17T07:03:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying some great weather and great whale watches in the Bay of Fundy with some close approaches by Knuckles and her calf, Sockeye, Peajack, Pierce, and Picses! These close encounters are not common but when they do happen, it is almost Spiritual. What a priviledge to be observed by the whales!

Our 13th Mother and calf pair!

2010-08-13T02:46:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

Whale watching continues to be excellent on the Bay of Fundy at Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises! We are fortunate to be able to observe these whales in their own habitat and see for ourselves the arrival of each new calf as it arrives to learn to feed on the herring and krill that is abundant here. These feeding areas are passed on from generation to generation. The latest calf to arrive was with its mother Knuckles. It seemed that yesterday was a nursery school day as we watched 5 mother and calf pairs, one of which was Flash and her calf, who is very active as the photographs show. can't wait to see who will arrive next!

More New Calves!

2010-08-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

Humpback whales continue to arrive in the Bay of Fundy! We have three new mother and calf pairs in the last week and our total is 11 new calves that we have sighted in the Bay of Fundy! The latest to arrive are Lace, Vector and Foggy! We were very excited to see Foggy and her 4th calf as we have followed the entire life of Foggy since she was brought here as a calf by her mother Bermuda in 1987!

Flash's calf breaching next to our boat!

Some other new whales that we have recorded are Badge, Cacophony, Pylon and many more! The total number of individual humpback whales is now at 108! What a great season it has been!

Photos from July 26

2010-07-27T03:46:00.000-07:00

Flipper Slapping
An adult male named Patches

Tail Lobbing

Flash's 2010 calf

What a Magnificent Day!

2010-07-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

And magnificent it was, especially on the 1:30 pm cruise when a Magnificent Frigatebird was

sighted in the Bay of Fundy. These birds are usually found in tropical oceans, such as off the coast of Florida and south. We're not sure how it ended up in the Bay of Fundy and hope that it makes its way back to its home waters.

Also sighted on our anniversary were several humpback whales who were identified as Flash and her calf, Puppet and Baton. There were also minke whales as well as fin whales. awesome day on the Bay!

Amazing, simply amazing

2010-07-22T06:21:00.000-07:00

Photos from our latest cruises! Awesome days on the Bay of Fundy with Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises!

Whales in the Fog!

2010-07-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the Bay of Fundy! Our cruises continue to be exceptional despite the fog that has been lingering. Many whales seem to be in the area with sightings of different individuals every day! Since the last post, we have had the addition of two more calves in the Bay. The mothers were identified as Mocha and Cirrus, who hasn't had a calf since 2004! The calving interval for humpback whales is usually every two to three years.

Flame

We have been seeing lots of activity bythe whales, including Flame, who amused us by playing in a rockweed streak. Flame is an adult male that we have been seeing here since 1986

Another calf for Flash

2010-07-09T07:11:00.000-07:00

Flash, one of our adopt-a-whales arrived in the Bay of Fundy with her 7th calf! Flash has been coming here since 1987 and is a favourite with our researchers. She was always one to appoach our whale watch boat and spy hop (Rise vertically out of the water to have a look)

Our Zodiac was the first to find a couple of humpbacks and when we arrived, Flash and her calf soon appeared in the area! While Flash was busy feeding, the calf demonstrated his ability to tail breach and it looked like it was having fun!

We documented our 6th mother and calf pair in the Bay and we were able to identify the mother as Mocha! So exciting to see the calves!

A Whole Food Chain in Action!

2010-07-06T15:24:00.001-07:00

Lunge Feeding humpback

Shrimp-like crustacean called krill

Side lunging humpback whales

Maelstrom playing with a piece of kelp

What an excellent day! We witnessed the marine food chain in action. Humpback whales were feeding on the smallest, krill! The humpback whales would emerge in unison with their mouths agape, baleen fully visible. Humpback whales are medium size baleen whales, the baleen used to filter the krill from the water. Humpback whales must eat about a ton and a half of food every day in order to build up their blubber layer in order to survive during the winter months, when they don't eat at all. To see this in action is truly amazing!

Surface feeding on the Bay!

2010-07-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

Quote's 2010 calf

Surface feeding humpback whales

Quote and Rooftop

Surface feeding! You can see the baleen and the whale's palette. The ventral pleats are expanded to accomodate the mass amount of water that will be expelled as they filter the krill from the seawater.

What a great day on the Bay of Fundy today! we witnessed the very reason why these whales come into our Bay. and that is to feed on the abundance of herring and krill that can be found in these nutrient rich waters. There were many whales in the area, humpbacks, fin whales and minke whales. We watched a mother and calf humpback whale pair and their escort who was identified as Rooftop. The mother was identified as Quote who's last calf was in 2008. Mallard, an adult male was also in the vicinity.

The activity ws non stop as we watched the constant appearance of bubble clouds, a method humpbacks use to corral their prey. It was nice to have a hint as to where these whales were going to surface with their mouths agape to capture a nice big mouthful of krill.

There were lots of birds in the area too. We sighted Razorbills, Puffins, Greater Shearwaters, Sooty Shearwaters, Northern Gannets, and Wilson's Storm Petrels!

Pictures from June 26th

2010-06-28T12:21:00.001-07:00

Chablis, 1990 calf of Silver

Fist, 1986 calf of Warrior

Chablis, flipper slapping

Fist came quite close to the Mega Nova so we could have a good look at her tail!

Did I say we see humpbacks?

2010-06-26T06:24:00.000-07:00

Humpback whales continue to be sighted daily on our whale watching cruises and our latest cruise on June 25th on the 130pm departure is testimony of that! There was plenty of bait fish such as small herring available for the whales, and it turned out to be quite a gathering! We watched 4 humpback whales to start who were just as curious of us as we were of them. These whales were identified as Peajack, Handstand, Yurt and Patches. Each one had their chance to approach the back of the Mega Nova much to the delight of our guests! As they were "mugging" the boat, we noticed more spouts in the distance and when the whales would allow, we left to investigate and to collect more photographs for identification purposes. And our passengers didn't mind one bit! We witnessed all behaviours that humpback whales demonstrate, such as breaching, tail breaching, spyhopping and etc. It was a day to remember with 37 humpback whales being photographs but there were certainly more than 50 in the vicinity!

Right Whales in Grand Passage

2010-06-23T06:42:00.000-07:00

Humpback whale spyhopping next to the boat

Right Whale mother and calf

Right Whale in Harbour

Whale watching continues to amaze us! From the start of the day, to the end, we were witnesses to the greatest mammals on earth. To begin, Owner and Captain of the Mega Nova, Harold Graham spotted two North Atlantic Right whales in Grand Passage. This species is the rarest large whale in the world with just over 400 of them in existence. They were considered the "right" whale to hunt as their blubber layer is very thick, rendering them slow and they were easy prey for the whalers. Because of their blubber, they floated when they were killed and yielded large amounts of oil when that blubber was boiled down. There are records of one right whale yielding 75 barrels of oil!

This calf is one of nineteen that were born in the waters off the coast of Florida and Georgia this past winter.

After we watched the mom and her calf, we continued on until we found some humpback whales. We were treated to two individuals who were very curious of the boat. These whales were identified as Clutter and Mr. Burns. We also spotted Spar's 2008 calf, Downsweep and Grand Manan.

You want humpbacks, we got humpbacks!

2010-06-20T03:25:00.000-07:00

Whale watching on our Zodiac, the Cetacean Adventure!

The season has only just begun and we have already sighted over 30 humpbacks, and that was only on one cruise! For a few days, we had been travelling to an area called the Prong, where the humpback whales tend to congregate to feed on the abundance of herring and krill that is located there. Once that supply has been diminished, they come a little closer which is what they are doing now. On our cruise on June 19th, we sighted 6 humpback whales just 6 miles from Brier Island. We don't mind going anywhere as long as it's reasonable to show our guests humpback whales as it provides us with data for our research. To date, we have identified 34 individual humpback whales, with many photographs of individual humpbacks yet to be matched to the North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalog. This is a remarkable number so early in the season, and it can only get better!

Some of the whales we have sighted so far are:Baton, Blanco, Haze, Shark, Stalagmite and calf, Quixote and calf, Scream, Clipper, Chorni, Teather 2008 calf, Spar 2008 calf, Haze 2008 calf, Yurt, New Moon.

Stay tuned for more as a complete list will be maintained on our blog throughout the season.

Bird sightings are excellent as well! We have been seeing puffins, Wilson's Storm Petrels, Greater and Sooty Shearwaters, Northern Fulmars and Northern Gannets.

First Humpbacks of the Season

2010-06-07T14:53:00.001-07:00

Luna

What a great day! Captain Jamie took our Zodiac out on the 1:00pm cruise and spotted the first humpbacks of the season! As part of our research, we require photographs of the underside of the tail to document their sighting in the Bay of Fundy. Our researchers went out on this quest on the Mega Nova and were able to obtain the photogrpahs and also identify the whales. They were Cloud, Gremlin and Luna, all adult males that we have been seeing here since the eighties. Cloud has the distinction of being the oldest whale of known age, having been born in 1977 to Istar. Humpback whales can be individually identified by a black and white pattern on the underside and just like our fingerprints, there are no two the same.

Cloud

Whale watching has begun!

2010-05-20T06:08:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

Our whale watch season has begun! As with previous years in May, sightings have mainly been of Minke whales which are the smallest baleen whale that we see here in the Bay of Fundy. They can reach lengths of 10 metres and up to 10 tonnes. This species can easily be identified by the bands of white that are on their pectoral flippers and their pointed rostrum.

We have also had reports from fishermen of humpback whales that are in the area but we need good weather to get to them.

We have also received a report from our colleague in Grand Manan, Laurie Murison, that right whales are being sighted about 15 miles northwest of Brier Island.

Whales Sightings in the Bay of Fundy

2010-05-01T02:18:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

We have been getting reports from lobster fishermen in the Bay that there has been some herring and because of that, some whales too. Owner and operator of Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises, Harold Graham, who captains the Mega Nova in the winter for lobster fishing, reported see two minke whales just off Northern Point. On Wednesday, he also had a report from Darrin Sollows, who also operates a whale watching company in the summer, that he sighted a juvenile humpback whale. These sightings alone make us very anxious to get out there on May 15th for our first whale watching cruise.

Minke Whales

2010-04-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

As the whale watch season approaches, it is time to reacquaint ourselves with whales that are commonly sighted in the Bay of Fundy. Typically, we see minke whales arrive in the Bay of Fundy first. I am hearing reports from various sources that this species has already made some appearances to the lobster fishermen.

Minke whales are the smallest species of baleen whales that are seen in the Bay of Fundy. They can reach lengths of 10 metres and weigh as much as 10 tonnes. Being a baleen whale, they tend to travel alone. These whales are unique in their physical appearance as they have pointed snouts and white bands or "mittens" on their pectoral flippers.

They are known to be curious of boats and and will approach whale watching boats on occasion. This is when we wonder who is watching whom?

First Cetacean Sighting of the Season!

2010-04-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

Greetings Everyone!

While out on a jaunt in our new Zodiac, we spotted our first cetacean of the season, a Harbor Porpoise! It was travelling quite close to the Long Island Shore. We have had reports of numerous porpoises out there in the Bay of Fundy as well as minke whales. Also sighted Black Gullimots and Common Eiders. Can't wait until our first whale watch on May 15th in our boat that we have named the Cetacean Adventure!

Not to worry for those of you who want to watch whales in the Mega Nova. Those cruises will start shortly after, on June 5th!

The New Boat is here!!

2010-04-08T07:03:00.000-07:00

The new season is fast approaching and we are so looking forward to it with the new addition to our whale watch. The new addition is a 24 foot Zodiac SRMN 730 (Sea RIB Marine and Navy) powered by a single 200 HP Yamaha engine. Because of the ability to reach speeds of 35 knots, we can reach the whales in less time allowing for more time spent observing them. Each cruise is 2 to 2.5 hours in duration and there are up to 5 departures daily on the Zodiac. They are at 800 am, 1030am, 100 pm, 330 pm and 600 pm. These cruises will commence on May 15, 2010. Please see our website for more details or call us at 1-800-656-3660.

MV Mega Nova

For those who wish to see the whales on our tour boat, the Mega Nova, there are 3 departures daily starting in early June. They are at 930am, 130pm, and 530 pm.

Gift Ideas

2009-11-27T06:32:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone and Happy Holidays!

It's that time of year when we are trying to think of some unique gift ideas for the upcoming holiday season. Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises has whale watching gift certificates available. Or why not support humpback whale research in the Bay of Fundy by adopting a humpback whale. You receive a certificate with a photograph of "your" whale, biography, sighting history and information about humpback whales and our research. Now that's a unique gift idea. Please visit our website for more information. http://www.brierislandwhalewatch.com/

The whale watch season has come to a close

2009-10-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

Churchill

Foggy

The season has come to an end for another year, and it went by so quickly. It was a very good year for sightings. We documented 119 individual humpback whales and thee are still some yet to be identified. Our calf numbers were down from last year with 5 new calves to the Bay of Fundy as compared to 2008 when we sighted 23!

Our last cruise was on October 11th and we saw my favourite humpback whale, Foggy. She was born in 1987 to Bermuda (Who we haven't seen since 1995, sadly) and we have watched Foggy grow to the adult she is today. She has had 3 calves of her own, one of which, Motley, was seen on several occasions during the 2009 season. Luna was with Foggy that day. Luna is an adult male that we have been seeing in the Bay of Fundy since 1986.

October is still a Good Time for Whales!

2009-10-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

Gondolier

Clamp

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to let you know that we will be whale watching up to October 12th ! Whale watching is still excellent as we are seeing humpbacks on every cruise,. The latest individuals have been Clamp, and Grand Manan who was born in 2002 to Fundy, a humpback that we have been sighting here since 1988. Also sighted was Gondolier who has a reputation for close approaches and this last sighting of him was no different!

There is still time to experience some of the best whale watching in the world!

Last Year's Calves are Returning!

2009-09-30T05:51:00.000-07:00

Teather's 08 calf

Haze's 08 calf

Peedee's 08 calf

Hello Everyone and thanks for checking in! As the season slows down, we have a the opportunity to sift through our photographs and try to match the unknowns with the North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogue. During the month of September we conducted some research cruises in which we photographs some very young whales in the Bay of Fundy and we are gradually finding out who they are. Last season, we saw a total of 23 calves return with their mothers to the Bay of Fundy to learn how to feed on the abundance of herring and krill that can be found here. The mothers always bring their calves back to the same area that they were brought to as calves and so these feeding ares are passed on from generation to generation. So far, we have documented three of those so far with many more photos yet to be matched. The ones that have returned are calves of; Teather, Peedee and Haze.

Other new whales this year are: Godzilla, Egret (Siphon's 07 calf) and Cord (Bungee's 02 calf)

Perfect day!

2009-09-22T06:34:00.000-07:00

Viper

Fin Whales at the Bulkhead Rip.

Hello everyone!

We decided to take advantage of the great weather and conducted a full day research cruise. We left bright and early and headed across the Bay to an area called the Bulkhead Rip whics is not far from Grand Manan Island. We had been getting reports of humpback whales and fin whales and we went to investifgate to see if any of "our" whales had gone over there. Once we arrived it wasn't long until we started to see spouts in the distance. Most of them were fin whales and we counted over forty at that area. We did see three humpbacks and was able to identify one as Bottleneck.

Bottleneck

The other two were unknown an need to be matched to the North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalog. A North Atlantic Right Whale was sighted as well.

North Atlantic Right Whale

We left that area and headed back across to another area where smaller humpbacks were being sighted. We counted over 20 of that species there. Only one of those were known and it was Viper, a whale we haven't sighted here since 2007. We continued toward Northwest Ledge off Brier Island and more humpbacks were there including; Lace, Haze, Lacuna, Flame, Squiggle and calf, Foggy and Highlighter.

All in all, it was a very productive day!

Another good day on the water!

2009-09-13T14:41:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! The Bay of Fundy continues to abound with sightings of whales and seabirds. On today's cruise we saw three humpback whales that were identified as Orion, Froth and Teather. Orion and Teather were very active, flipper slapping, tail lobbing and Orion even approached the boat at one point!

Orion flipper slapping

On September 12th, our cruise watched a minke whale continuously breach by the boat for half an hour.

New whales to the Bay of Fundy have been: Sigma, Lace and Orion.

What a week!

2009-09-08T09:28:00.000-07:00

One of the unidentified juveniles sighted on a research cruise.

Squiggle's calf plays around the Mega Nova

Sperm whale spout is at an angle due to the single

blow hole being directed to the left

Hi everyone! Summer has seemed to arrived ......well, summer weather. But actually, the weather plays no role in the whale watching. We have had some pretty good trips even in inclement weather.

But that's beside the point. This past week has been amazing with different humpback whales being sighted everyday! We never know who might show up. Or what species! We conducted a short research cruise yesterday in the afternoon. We spent some time photographing some whales such as Touchdown, Bungee, Kalimba, Froth, Squiggle and calf, Teather, and Gremlin. We thought we may try to go further offshore. We spotted a single whale and approached it, hoping to obtain some photos but it disappeared as soon as we got there. We waited 25 minutes for it to reappear and it did about a mile to the southwest! Then we noticed the spout, it was low and angled to the left. We approached and got a photo from a distance just in case it disappeared again...and it did for 18 minutes and when it surfaced it was too far for us to work with but we could definitely identify it as a sperm whale. We haven't seen that species here since 2001! It was certainly a nice surprise!

On September 4th, we took advantage of the weather and went to an area where some younger humpbacks have been hanging out. In that area we photographed 17 different juvenile humpbacks and were only able to identify three of them. They were Clutter, Magma, and Shot Put.

Some other new individuals sighted have been: Meteor, Slumber, and Egreque.

Do the "Right" Thing!

2009-09-02T06:36:00.001-07:00

On August 31st, we had the priveledge of witnessing the rarest large whale on earth engaged in Surface Active Group behaviour. There were 12 - 15 right whales but only one of those was a female. She calls the males and rolls on her back, making herself unavailable to the males who are jostling for position. Imagine up to 14 males at about 50 tonnes each competing for that. It dos indeed cause quite a stir!

Humpbacks are close to Brier Island!

2009-08-30T13:54:00.000-07:00

Whale watching continues to be at its best ! No two cruises are the same as we tell everyone who steps aboard our boats. This proved to be true on August 25th when we watched several whale surface feeding on herring only a quarter mile from shore!! It all strated when we spotted Baton (one of our adopt a whales) who was kick feeding. He would use his tail to create a bubble cloud which would corral the herring and concentrate it so that he could get more fish with one gulp. We also noticed more spouts southwest of us and when we approashed, they were feeding as well. One of them was identified as Triton, an adult male that we haven't sighted here since 2004.

Other whales that have been sighted in the past week are: Kalimba, Scythe, Partition, Capella, Salvo, Quote, Raindrop, Grommet, Baton, Vector,Hopper, Calanus, Wigwam, and Southpaw.

Hurricane Bill

2009-08-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

All cruises today were cancelled because of hurricane Bill so I took advantage of the photo opportunity of the wave action at Pond Cove. Oh the power of the sea!

Another Great Day with Lacuna!

2009-08-20T05:36:00.000-07:00

Lacuna continues to be the star of the show!

This humpback whale was first sighted in the Bay of Fundy in 2003 but didn't really exhibit any curious behaviour until recent years, and now he just won't stop, and we're not complaining. We're not sure what makes him so friendly but he tends to do so when he is alone. When he is with other whales he couldn't be bothered with the boat.

On the latest occasion, he approached from the stern and then go under the boat only to reappear at the side, spyhopping to have a look at everyone on board. He made sure that the people on the other side saw him as well as he swam under the boat. He then went to the back of the boat and flipper slapped very close as if trying to get everyone wet and he did indeed! Humpback whales are the gentle giants.

We are sighting new individuals daily such as: Blanco, Sockeye, Quarternote, Maelstrom and Prongs.

Bay of FUNday!

2009-08-13T07:43:00.000-07:00

Spy hopping Gremlin

Hi everyone! What a great day to be on the Bay of Fundy! Our cruises have been excellent with sightings of humpbacks on every cruise! On our most recent cruises, we have seen lots of activity including groups of active humpback whales. Gremlin, Flame, and Luna joined up with Flash and Rooftop and seemed to be causing quite a stir! Gremlin woften spy hop as if looking at the boat or the other whales. During the evening cruise, Patchwork entertained us by coming quite close to the boat where he would flipper slap and tail lob.

We were glad to see some favourites return in the last few days such as: Rooftop, Istar, Jurassic, Squiggle and her 2009 calf, Willow, Mallard and Flame.

Juvenile Northern Gannet

Lacuna is back!

2009-08-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Whale watching continues to be spectacular especiall with the arrival of one of our all-time favourite humpback whales, Lacuna! He is known to be a very friendly whale and last evening he lived up to our expectations. We were about to go by him without seeing him when beside us we saw a huge whale breach! We waited for the whale to surface and he did, right beside the boat. He entertained everyone by rolling next to the boat and showing us his massive tail.

Lacuna beside the whale watch boat!

The night before was exceptional as well! We had watched NAHWC# 0034 (She has no name) on both cruises and we headed to the same place on the sunset cruise to relocate her. We did find her, but she had joined up with several other whales in the area! In total, we counted 22 humpback whales, some travelling in groups as many as 8! Humpbacks are usually solitary by nature so this was extraordinary in itself!

Sunny days are here again!

2009-08-02T06:32:00.000-07:00

The sun finally broke through and awarded us once again with some amzing whale watching! We were so pleased to see a humpback named Tab return to Brier Island as he is one of our favourites and the most frequently sighted since we started keeping track of the indiviuals in 1984. He has been sighted every year since that time having only missed 2 years including 2008 so we were very happy with his return!

Yesterday we sighted three humpbacks together; Badge, Littlespot and Mocha. Badge was quite active, flipper slapping next to the boat.

Some of the others that we have identified are: Yurt, Jigger, and Fist.

Bird sightings are outstanding! In the last few days we have seen hundreds of sooty shearwaters! There have also been Northern Fulmars, Greater Shearwaters, Northern Gannet, a Razorbill and Red Phalaropes.

Whale watching at its finest!

2009-07-22T05:51:00.000-07:00

Lunge feeding on krill

Whale watching off Brier Island continues to be amazing! The humpbacks have moved in closer to Brier Island and every day we are seeing and recording new individuals. To date we have sighted three new calves in the Bay of Fundy. The mothers are Shark, Photon and Colorado. For the last two evenings we have been going out on sunset cruises and they have proven to be quite eventful. We witnessed lunge feeding, breaching, flipper slapping and tail lobbing, although this can certainly happen at any time of day.

Close approach by a humpback named Collision

Some new whales that we have identified are: Chorni (who we haven't seen since 2006), Collision, Flash, Cirrus, Lagoon, Flamingo and Half Moon.

Flamingo

Best trip of 2009! (So far....)

2009-07-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

The humpbacks have arrived to Brier Island and we couldn't be happier! Especially after our cruise on July 16th when we experienced humpback behaviour at its very best! The whales announced their presence to us by breaching, not just one whale, but 4, who very breaching simultaneously! We didn't know where to look! Two of the whales who were active for us were Foggy and Peajack. Foggy has been sighted every year since 1987 when she was brought to the Bay of Fundy as a calf by her mom, Bermuda. Peajack has been sighted here since 1995.

We also witnessed a very curious humpback named, I-Beam. He approached the boat and spyhopped, having a look at everyone within!

Also sighted was a North Atlantic Right Whale, Minke whales, Fin whales and Harbor Porpoise.

Just some photos

2009-07-12T08:05:00.001-07:00

A new whale for us, identified as Drip.

Greater Shearwater

Quixote

Pierce

Going the Distance

2009-07-09T04:34:00.000-07:00

Handstand

Badge

Perseverence certainly pays off, so the adage goes. Our whale watch cruises have been going twenty miles offshore to see humpback whales. And the wait has certainly been worth it! When the humpback whales move into the Bay, they tend to go to that area first prior to moving into the coastal waters of Brier Island. Our most recent cruise was yestersay and we recorded 17 different humpback whales which included our first calf of the season. The mother was identified as Shark. Other whales identified were Badge, Circlet, Patchwork, New Moon, and Spika!

So even though our cruises have been a bit longer in duration, they are well worth the extra time. We go the distance to show you the whales of the Bay of Fundy!

Fog Magic

2009-07-01T03:37:00.000-07:00

Yep...you guessed it, we have fog! But, that doesn't deter us from whale watching and seeing whales. In fact, some of our best trips can be in the fog. Just recently, we experienced a "friendly" minke whale that seemed to be doing more people watching than anything. In normal fashion for a foggy day, we shut down our engine and listened for the whales' blows to determine their location. We heard this minke and he/she seemed to make a beeline for us! This whale stayed with us for half an hour, paralleling our course, rolling on its side allowing us to see its eye as it watched us! It was truly an awesome sight!

We have also sighted some humpbacks closer to Brier Island. They were identified as Luna, #0034 and the third has yet to be matched to the North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogue. No you can't order one but you can match the fluke print to the thousands of photographs that are in it!

So yes, despite its limited visibility, the fog does hold some magic!

Great to see some familiar faces........uh, tails!

2009-06-19T07:41:00.000-07:00

Greater Shearwater taking flight

Patchwork

The whale watching has been excellent, even though we have to go 15 miles offshore. The wait is well worth it. We have been seeing some humpbacks on these cruises and many are very familiar to us like Mr. Burns (One of our adopt a whales) who we have been seeing in the Bay of Fundy every year since 1995. Each humpback is identified by a pattern on the underside of their tail which is unique to each individual. They can range from all white, like Mr Burns, to all black and variations in between. Other humpbacks we have sighted thus far are Notchy, Downsweep, Bottelneck, Cacophony, Quixote, Highlighter and Patchwork!

Mr. Burns

First Humpback!

2009-06-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

Our first humpback has arrived in the Bay of Fundy ! On June 3rd, while on our whale watch cruise we were watching minke whales when our Captain noticed a spout. As we approached, it became obvious that we were seeing our first humpback of the season. As the whale went for a deep dive, it lifted its tail to reveal the underside, giving everyone ample opportunity to photograph the underside of the tail. From this, we were able to identify our dirst humpback as Platform, an adult female that we have been seeing in the Bay of Fundy since 1997.

Also on our whale watches, we have been seeing minke whales and on June 9 we were treated to a breaching minke whale. this behaviour is not commonly seen with this species so when it does happen it is truly thrilling!

End of May sightings

2009-05-29T06:03:00.000-07:00

Canada Goose in Grand Passage

Hello everyone! Hard to believe that we're at the end of May already! We've had a report from a lobster fisherman that a humpback was sighted just off Brier Island. Unfortunately, we didn't have a cruise that day, so we were unable to investigate and find out who the whale was! When we have been going out we have been sighting Minke whales and also a lot of birds. Seals have been quite abundant in the Bay of Fundy as well. There are two species of seals that are common to the Bay; Harbour Seals and Grey Seals.

Grey Seals

Our next cruise will be on Sunday, May 31st.

Lobster fishing boat, Ray's Legacy from Brier Island

Whales and birds and krill, Oh My!

2009-05-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

Northern Gannets.

Our whale watching season started on May 18th, 2009. And it was a successful start to the season at that! We covered about 30 nautical miles on our first cruise and actually ended up very close to Brier Island at Moore's Ledge, about 4 miles north of the island. The Bay was quite active that day with many birds being seen, including: Northern Gannets, Puffins, a Razorbill, a Common Murre, Red Necked Phalaropes, Black Legged Kittiwakes and Northern Fulmars

Also on Moore's Ledge we sighted our first whale of the season, a minke whale. this was soon joined by another because of the ample supply of prey species in the area. For the last few days, we have noticed an abundance of krill upon which the herring, birds and whales have been feeding upon.

So even though it is early in the season for whale watching, we have had the pleasure of seeing the smallest baleen species that comes into the Bay of Fundy. A great start to the season!

Whale watching to start May 16th, 2009

2009-05-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

Our whale watching season is scheduled to start on May 16th! The lobster fishermen are reporting that there is bountiful prey species for the whales so that looks promising. Our whale watching boat, Cetacean Search was sailed home last week from Digby and along the way we did sight a humpback whale and a minke whale. A good sign of the season to come!

The Whales are still here!

2008-11-19T11:38:00.000-08:00

P.D. and her 2008 calf in Grand Passage!

Even though we haven't been whale watching since October 14th, that doesn't mean that the whales are gone. Normally, the whales leave here by this time to make their way to the Caribbean for the breeding and calving season which takes place in the winter. For some reason, there were still four that hadn't made that journey yet. I'm sure there are more as I have been hearing the odd report that whales are still being seen from shore.

Today these four humpback whales were seen in Grand Passage, the body of water that runs between Brier and Long Islands. It was easy to identify them from shore as they were quite close. They were P.D. and her 2008 calf, Flame but I was unable to identify the fourth individual.

Hmmm, maybe we stopped whale watching too soon!

Four humpbacks in Grand Passage!

October Winds

2008-10-29T08:38:00.000-07:00

Greetings everyone! Our season has ended for 2008 and it was a great year overall. Never before have we recorded as many calves in the Bay of Fundy as we did for this year. At season end we had 24 new calves in the Bay but sadly, we lost 2 of those. They were the calves of Rooftop and Spoon.

The photos above show one of the reasons why we end our season in October. These photos were taken at Pond Cove on Brier Island. The first photo show what happened when such high seas meet. Amazing!

An Orca in the Bay of Fundy!

2008-10-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

Oh did I forget to mention that on September 20, 2008 we sighted an Orca in the Bay of Fundy? It was travelling with a small group of Atlantic White Sided Dolphins!

Fabulous Whale Watching!

2008-10-01T05:14:00.000-07:00

Whale watching continues to be fabulous with Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises. Our calf count is currently at 23! This is a record number for the Bay of Fundy as the average sightings of mother and calves is usually no more than 5 per season. Although the last few years there has been an increase. The latest mother to arrive in the Bay of Fundy with her calf has been Kalimba. She has been sporatically sighted in the Bay of Fundy since 1991 and this appears to be her first known calf .

Kalimba

On a sad note we lost one of our calves. A small humpback whale washed up in Delap's Cove, Nova Scotia. Jack Tattrie sent some photos to me of the identifying pattern on the underside of the flukes and it was matched to Spoon's 2008 calf. We are not sure what happened but it is under investigation.

Spoon's 2008 calf on September 5, 2008

Identifying marks on the right fluke.

On a much happier note, there are plenty of whales around Brier Island to see. On September 28th, we recorded 21 individual humpback whales and 1 right whale. Keep in mind that every trip is different and we never know what we're going to see.

Breaching Right Whale

The latest news from Brier Island

2008-09-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

Good day everyone. So sorry for the long delay in the updates! The Bay of Fundy still continues to be a hot spot for whales. The September weather is very good for whale watching with bright sunny skies, excellent for scanning the water for whale spouts! The list of new calves continues to grow with the latest mother who has arrived in the Bay being Three Dots. This calf is the second for her that we know of, the first being in 2004. Our calf count is now at an amazing 21 which far exceeds any other year!

We have had new whales arriving in the Bay daily. One is an individual that has yet to be identified. We were able to get some excellent photos of the whale as it stayed with the boat for about an hour! It semed to like the water streaming from the wet exhaust of the generator! It turned on its side to have a look!

Other whales that have been sighted lately are: Champagne, Cornucopia, Clipper, Foggy, Colorado, Flame, Hopper, and Haze and her calf.

An overdue update!

2008-09-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the Bay of Fundy! Whale watching continues to be active and interesting with many sighings of humpbacks, a few fin whales and minke whales. We were very excited to add another mother to our ever growing list. The latest mother and calf were to arrive were Spoon and NAHWC#8324. Spoon is actually the 19th mother that we have documented. If we are to sight one more, we will have exceeded last year's record which is quite remarkable!

The humpback whales that we see here are part of the Gulf of Maine population of humpback whales in the North Atlantic. There are reports off 77 calves that have been documented in this population which is an excellent number!

New whales are being sighted daily such as Filament, Filigree, Collision, Jurassic, Churchill (at left) and Sigma. To date, we have sighted 124 individual humpback whales.

Sightings are Great!

2008-08-27T07:27:00.000-07:00

Whales a plenty! We are just amazed at the number of whales that continue to frequent the Nova Scotia side of the Bay of Fundy and we seem to be seeing different individual humpack whales everyday. We have now documented 17 new calves to the Bay of Fundy. Although not quite to last year's record of 19, we still have a bit of time to go and anxiously await to see if there are more to come. THe Gulf of Maine's entire population, of which our whales are included, is around 800 humpbacks. We have had a report that the calf count is now at 77, an all time high! THe latest mothers to arrive to the Bay of Fundy are Vibes and NAHWC#0034.

Our sunset cruises have been awesome with lots of activity! Sockeye continues to amuse us and we have had a new friendly whale join the ranks. His name is Scream and the last time we saw him was in 2006. We are so glad that he retuned to the Bay of Fundy!

There has been an increase in sightings of right whales the last few days. This species is usually found in the Grand Manan Basin which is about 20 miles north from Brier Island so they are not usually seen on our cruises which are only about 5 miles from the island.

We have identified some new humpback whales in our area. They are: Vee, Ase, Churchill, Scream, Wigwam, Arch, Peajack, Cone, and Slingshot.

Humpback Whales in Grand Passage!

2008-08-23T07:08:00.000-07:00

What a way to celebrate our anniversary! Much to everyone's surprise and delight, four humpback whales came through Grand Passage from St. Mary's Bay and continued through the passage into the Bay of Fundy. Whales will travel through occasionally but usually the smaller minke whales. THe shoreline was lined with spectators and the ferry slowed so that their passengers could have a look. We were able to obtain excellent photographs and we were able to identify them as Flash, Frost, Cone, and Tusk!

The month of "Fogust"

2008-08-19T05:01:00.000-07:00

Luna tail lobbing

The fog continues to linger over the Bay of Fundy! We have had a bit of reprieve and have been delighted with the amount of whales that are present near Brier Island. Spouts from the whales could be seen and heard in every direction! We were able to identify many of the individual humpbacks and were pleased to document some new calves! Our calf count in the Bay of Fundy is now at 15. The latest new mothers to arrive in the Bay are: Bungee, Clamp, Milkyway, and Teather. Sadly, we have to report that the last time that Rooftop was seen, she did not have her calf with her. Other humpback whales that have been sighted are: Doublet, Tusk, Sickle, Hopper, Cloud (the oldest whale of known age, born in 1977 to Istar), Peajack, Pendiente and Tigris.

We will be celebrating our 22nd anniversary on August 22nd and will offer our guests a great discount at $22 plus tax per person! Not an offer to be missed!

It can't get any better than this!

2008-08-09T06:27:00.000-07:00

What a spectacular cruise! On August 8, 2008 we were treated to every type of humpback whale behaviour that can be seen on the feeding grounds! First of all, we watched Rooftop and her 2008 calf. Both approached the boat as if to inspect it and then the calf started to tail breach which is when they throw their tails out of the water and land on their sides. It did this several times and very close to the boat. We were never in any danger and in fact, our guests were very proud of the fact that they got splashed by a whale!

While we were watching them, the captain noticed two whales breaching the distance so we headed in their direction as they continued that behaviour much to our amusement. It is amazing to think that a 40 ton whale can have that much power in their tail to lift that enormous body that far out of the water.

We have also been pleased to see Sockeye for the last couple of days in the Bay of Fundy. He is a rather odd looking whale as he has an under bite making him look like a sockeye salmon, hence the name. He is known to be very curious and approached the Mega Nova giving us a very good look at his lower jaw.

It really cannot get any better than this!

Sockeye's under bite

Lacuna - The star of the season!

2008-08-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

Eye to eye with a humpback whale!

Our whale watch cruises have been excellent with sightings of humpback whales everyday! And even in the fog! Though more difficult to locate the whales because of the reduced visibility, the end result has never been disappointing thus far! The star of the season so far has been Lacuna, an adult male that we have been sighting here in the Bay of Fundy since 2003. He has turned out to be a very curious individual and will often approach our whale watching boats. On a couple of occasions he has rubbed the bottom of the boat with his back. We knew at all times that we were never in any danger. At one point, our guest were playing music to him and he was very interested in the sound approaching very closely to where the sound was emanating. The Captain was on the bow watching the whale and sat on the pulpit which is at the bow of the boat. Lacuna surfaced under him and Spouted directly under him, surrounding Harold in a cloud of whale spray! We like to think that this was deliberate!

Another favourite has been Rooftop and her 2008 calf. The calf has also turned pout to be very curious and will often flipper slap and roll next to the boat.

Playing music to Lacuna!

Other humpbacks that have been identified are: Python, Cirrus, Quote and calf, Sunburst and Patches.

Some Friendly Humpback Whales

2008-07-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Nine's 2008 calf coming in for a close look

The last few days have been very interesting on the Bay of Fundy. We have seen a few humpback whales move closer to Brier Island and we are documenting new individuals every day. To date, we have documented 53 individual humpback whales including 8 new calves. The latest to be brought to the Bay was Nine and her calf. Nine has only been sighted here one other year and that was in 2006 and she soon became a favourite among all of the crew because she turned out to be a very friendly whale often approaching the boats in curious behaviour. Her calf has also learned this behaviour from its mother and was very curious of our boats, the Cetacean Search and the Mega Nova. The calf would spyhop and roll and its eye appeared to be on the occupants on the boats. It truly is an amazing experience when a whale chooses to do this and something you'll never forget!

Our anniversary day was very successful. We celebrated our 22nd year of whale watching by offering an amazing discount which will be offered again on August 22 and September 20, 2008. The price per person is $22 + tax, a very good opportunity to see these whales in their own habitat. On July 22nd, it was very windy and choppy but we were able to get all of our cruises out that day. We documented a few new whales such as Littlespot, Lagoon, and Fan. Shark was active much to our delight. She would roll on her side and slap her long pectoral flippers on the surface of the water in a resounding smack. It is not known why these whales do this but there are many theories such as for communication, feeding purposes or to knock parasites off the flippers.

On Wednesday, our cruises were privileged to be visited by Lacuna an adult male who has been coming to the Bay of Fundy since 2003. He treated the Cetacean Search as if it were a bath toy, pushing on it with his nose. We were never in any danger, humpback whales are after all our gentle giants.

The fog still looms over us but our trips have been phenomenal!

Whales in the Fog!

2008-07-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

The fog continues to loom over us, however we have ahd a few beautiful sunny days. As I mentioned in a previous post, the fog can hinder us a bit as it takes a bit longer to locate the whales but we are usually successful in finding them. On yesterday's cruise, the fog cleared just enough that we were able to see 4 different humpback whales including a mother and calf and two individuals that were hanging out together. The new mother was identified as Touchdown, and the other two were Flash and Notchy.

The calf was very entertaining as when Touchdown went for a deep dive, the calf would linger at the surface and inspect our boat and its occupants. At at point, the calf breached (jumped) next to the boat much to the excitement of everyone!

Calf rolling next to the boat.

Sightings to July 11th

2008-07-11T11:26:00.001-07:00

The Bay of Fundy is working its magic. Not only has the fog disappeared but some humpback whales have moved a little bit closer to Brier Island which makes for some fantastic whale watching. Fog did not get the best of us though, as we have had some good sightings. Two days ago, we located one of our adopt a whales, Rooftop with her third calf! Other adopt a whales have been sighted as well are Flash who was seen on July 10 and Shuttle (Shown at left) who

was sighted today, July 11. Other individuals

that have been identified are Parrot, Istar,

Puppet, Highlighter (at right) , Gremlin, Sauron,

and Willow. This makes our total identified humpback whale count at 34 for the 2008 season.

Bird sightings have been of Greater Shearwaters, Sooty Shearwaters, Northern Fulmars, Northern Gannets, Wilson's Storm Petrels and a few Red Necked Phalaropes have arrived.

The foggy days of summer!

2008-07-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

Fin whales

Whale watching has been great even with the ominous fog that seems to be lurking over our island. You may think that you wouldn't see anything in its blanket but thanks to our honed hearing skills, we are ever so tuned to the sound of their blows in the fog! We locate the whales usually by their spouts but due to reduced visibilty we listen for the sound instead. We have mostly been seeing minke whales but lately we have also been sighting fin whales as well. Fin whales are the largest type of baleen whales that come to the Bay of Fundy. They can be up to 80 feet in length and weigh about 70 tons.

The humpbacks are still about 15-18 miles away but there has been singles sighted close to the island. On June 26, we made a survey cruise to that area and documented 17+ humpback whales. We recorded two mother and calf pairs. The moms were identified as Mets and Spar.

And the winner is.....

2008-06-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

Every year we wait with bated breath as to the arrival of the humpback whales and who the first identified whale will be. Humpback whales are individually identified by the black and white pigmentation patterns on the underside of the tail. No two are the same, much like our own fingernails. Even though we did sight a mother and calf pair previously, her identity remains unknown. On June 14, we travelled 15 miles northwest of Brier Island to an area called the Prong and spotted 3 humpback whales in that area. The first identified humpback for 2008 was none other than Mr. Burns! This adult male was first sighted near Brier Island in 1995 and has been seen here every year since. He was born in 1988 to Petrel. Mr. Burns also has the distinction of being one of the whales that you can adopt in our adopt a whale program, supporting the research that we conduct annually.

Mr Burns and Clutter, two humpback whales sighted on June 14.

The first week of whale watching

2008-06-09T03:03:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the 2008 season of whale watching. Our first cruise of the season was on June 1 and like most beginnings our sightings have been mostly of minke whales. Minke whales are the smallest type of baleen whale that we see here in the Bay of Fundy. They measure 15-30 feet in length and weigh about 10 tons. So far the minkes that we have seen have been very curious of the boat much to the delight of our passengers!

On June 6, we sighted our first humpback and it was a mother and calf pair! Humpback calves are born in the Caribbean and are brought here by their mothers to feed in the nutrient rich waters of the Bay of Fundy. We haven't been able to identify the mother yet by the underside of the tail but we will definitely keep you posted as to who was our first humpback of the season!

Humpback mother and calf!

High tide - Low Tide

2008-06-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

The Bay of Fundy boasts the highest tides in the world and it is these tides that make the Bay of Fundy one of the best areas in the world for whale watching because of the water rushing over ledges which creates upwellings that bring nutrients to the surface. These nutrients in turn feed larger plankton, whci is food for small schooling fish and all of that is food for the whales, dolphins, porpoises and seabirds.

In the many fishing village that are on the Bay of Fundy, it is not uncommon to see the boats high and dry at low tide but not to worry, the tide always comes back up.....in about 6 hours and thirteen minutes!

Our whale watching boat "Mega Nova" at low tide and high tide. At Brier Island the difference between high and low tides is 16 to 20 feet.

Just What does the boat do in the off Season?

2008-02-14T06:14:00.000-08:00

Mega Nova on "dumping day"

That's a question that we get throughout the summer. The Mega Nova was built in 2002 with a dual purpose in mind. As we all know, it carries passengers in the summer season but from the end of November to May 31, it participates in the District 34 Lobster Fishery. The company's owner, Harold Graham is Captain, with a crew compliment of 2. At the beginning of the season when the catch is most plentiful, he has extra men onboard to help with the various tasks, such as banding the lobsters.

Landing traps. Taking lobsters out and rebaiting.

Kirk Peters banding the catch

Holiday Gift Ideas

2007-12-04T06:56:00.000-08:00

Are you wondering what to give that special someone for a gift. Why not consider adopting a humpback whale? The recipient will receive a framable certificate, a biography, sighting history of "their" whale as well as fact sheets and our annual newsletter for 5 years. The cost is $25 and is directly applied to our research efforts. More information on our program can be found at
http://www.brierislandwhalewatch.com/adoption.htm

One of our adoptables, Foggy.

Another gift idea is a gift certifcate for whale watching.

For any information on these ideas please call 1-800-656-3660. (Toll free USA and Canada)

End of Season Summary

2007-11-05T06:49:00.000-08:00

The 2007 whale watching season came to an official close for us on a very windy October 16. Even though the weather was not the best, sightings were good despite the choppy water. During the last few cruises, we watched the humpbacks as they fed at the surface on krill, a small shrimp-like crustacean. The water appeared red with the abundance of the substance much to the satisfaction of the whales!

Humpback whale feeding on krill

We do know that another whale watching company that runs a zodiac out of Tiverton was still doing cruises up until this past weekend and was reporting successful cruises. These whales have been known to stick around in the Bay of Fundy even up until December and Lobster fishermen have sighted them in January! Usually these whales migrate to much warmer waters, like the humpback whose winter breeding grounds are found in the Caribbean.

The season was the best we have ever had in 24 years of research. We have identified 169 individual humpback whales which includes 19 calves and 18 new individuals sighted by us in the Bay of Fundy. Right now, we are working on the photographs and data that were collected and organizing those to be sent to Provencetwon Center for Coastal Studies, Allied Whale, New England Aquarium and Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

We are thankful to Jooke Robbins of PCCS who helped to identify the new whales for us including a mother that we sighted in June. Jooke just identified her as Stalagmite, a whale that hasn't been seen anywhere since 1992!

Stalagmite

Other whales identified during the last part of the season were Bat, Jurassic, Alpha, Grommet, Perimeter, Frost, Tab and 0985. (unnamed)

Be sure to check with our blog every week as we hope to post new information about the whales and any announcements throughout the winter months.

An Overdue Update!

2007-10-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

A humpback whale named "Pierce".

Hello everyone! Again I apologize for the lapse in the updates! It's not that we're not seeing whales, we are and plenty of them! In the last week we have added soem new individuals to our list, there are whales that we have not seen in the Bay of Fundy. The whales identified were: Dome, Pierce (Previously sighted this year by Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies), and Trickle. We also documented some familier whales that have just been sighted for the first time this year and they were: PD, Spoon, and Frost. These humpback whales bring our sightings to a total of 166 individual humpback whales! A record year for Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises!

Students of Westport Village School

On October 5, we had the pleasure of hosting a number of students and parents from our local school on their annual whale watch. Every fall I (Shelley) go into the classroom and give a power point presentation to the students of Westport Village School. A few days following the presentation, after a few cancellations because of weather, they were able to go out on a beautiful calm day. The first whale that was sighted was Rooftop (One of our adopt a whales) who as a reaction to dolphins that were nearby, breached much to our delight! After Rooftop approached us, we watched two more humpback whales that were identified as Trickle and Spar.

Our last cruise will be on October 16 at 130pm. We are sorry to see the season come to an end as we know that there are still whales out there to be see. However, we will be conducting some reseach cruises and I will keep you posted as to what was seen.

Great Day in the Fog!

2007-09-24T05:33:00.000-07:00

Calf breaching next to our boat, the Cetacean Search

Fog certainly does not stop us from having great cruises and September 22nd proved just that. Our boat, the Cetacean Search was just heading out when we received a call that our other boat, the Mega Nova was with two humpback whales. On foggy days, the whale watching boats work

together to make it easier for others to locate the whales. Usually we rely on our ears to find them in the fog and this process can take us a bit of time. The first two whales we watched were Shark and her calf which were travelling. We watched them for a bit then decided to go and find something else. We then found Flash and her calf and an adult male named Cloud, who is the oldest whale of known age. He was born in 1977. Shortly after we started watching them, the calf started to breach......and breach......and breach for two hours straight. At one point, the calf breached so close that it it got some of our passengers wet. Our crowd went wild, and we even had our very own cheerleading section! It is indeed the whales and the people that make for a great cruise and in the 18 years that I have been whale watching, I have to say that this was the best day that I have ever experienced!

Another new species for 2007!

2007-09-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

The high dorsal fin of a Sei whale!

Hi Everyone! Whale watching continues to be at its finest on the Bay of Fundy. We are still seeing a fair number of humpback whales in the area as well as some visitors to the Bay of Fundy. On September 18, our research boat, the Cetacean Search, went out on a short research cruise to locate other humpback whales that may be just outside our usual viewing area. We covered quite an area and when approaching one of the usual spots, we sighted several spouts in the distance. We were very excited thinking that we had found more humpbacks and that possibly we would be documenting some new ones. As we got closer, we noted the dorsal fins to be quite high and immediately identified them as Sei whales! This species is normally found further offshore and are not indigenous to the Bay of Fundy. They are though, a baleen whale and feed on the same food, copepods, as right whales. We were not surprised to see a right whale nearby. After recording the 16 Sei whales in the area, we continued up the Bay only to find a large pod, well, 50 or so, Pilot Whales. You may recall in an earlier post that we had sighted this species previously in the season.

North Atlantic Right Whale

We added a few new individuals since the last post as well. New to the Bay of Fundy are Owl, Kalimba and Raindrop's 2005 calf.

Humpback whale named Owl.

September is so far, so good!

2007-09-12T13:22:00.000-07:00

Mocha's 2007 calf coming in for a close look!

I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since my last post. I'm so terribly sorry for keeping everyone waiting! The month thus far has been full of activity and more humpback whales being added to our sightings list. 2007 has proven to be a record year for sightings of individuals and of calves. The highlight was Mocha's calf who was very curious of the boat. This always makes for a special occasion as whale watchers become awed at just how intelligent these animals really are. The calf circled the boat and spy hopped several times so that everyone could see her. Calves are born in the Caribbean during the winter, making them about 9 months of age at this time of year.

Our count is now at 156 individual humpback whales. The whales that we have identified within the last two weeks have been: Tab, Blanco, Cone, Pyramid, Decimal, Chromosome and Quote. We also sighted Mr. Burns close by, who is one of our favourites! Mr Burns received his name from us because his doral fin resembles the nose of a character on a popular cartoon series. We have since found out that his "real" name is Ibex and he was born in 1988 to Petrel. He will always be Mr. Burns to us.

The highlight of the weeek was our short cruise to the Grand Manan Basin to take one of our volunteers to see the right whales, which she has never seen before. There were still a few in the area including one mother and calf pair.

We are looking forward to the upcoming weeks, as we never know what it may bring. We are hoping to conduct several more dedicated research cruises and try to find some of the individuals that have yet to be found.

Close Encounters of the Whale Kind!

2007-09-01T06:57:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and thanks for checking in! We are very pleased to report that we have been seeing many whales in the last few days, mainly humpback whales but also a few fin whales and minke whales. On August 28 we were pleased to sight North Atlantic Right Whale, the rarest large whale in the world. They are considered to be critically endangered.

Tigris coming in for a closer look!

Each cruise does indeed offer something different and on a few occasions the humpbacks approached the boat to examine the occupants within by spy hopping next to the boat. This is when they lift their head out of the water to see what is above. This curious behaviour does not happen very often but when it does, it is quite memorable! Each humpback whale seems to have their own personalities and there are some who are more prone to come close to the boats such as Peajack, Tigris and Lacuna.

Peajack and Tigris approaching our boat the Cetacean Search.

On top of a humpback's head, you will notice that they have a lot of bumps there and they are called tubercles. Each one has a hair growing from it that has a sensory function. So probably very sensitive to its surroundings. At times we will see humpbacks playing in rock weed streaks, raising their heads through the rock weed, seeming to like the feel of it on the tubercles. Lacuna was amusing us by doing this on August 30. It was fun to watch how whales will play with the kelp the same way a kitten plays with a roll of string!

We continue to add to our calf list. It has turned out to be a record breaking year with the arrival of 19 calves! This number is far better than our typical 3 or 4 that we usually see during the summer. The latest mother that has arrived in the Bay has been Wigwam.

What a great day!

2007-08-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

OK, just when I thought things couldn't get any better....but on Wednesday, August 22 we decided to conduct an all day research cruise to determine just where the larger numbers of humpback whales have been hanging out. We have been seeing quite a number of humpbacks on our regular 3 hour whale watch cruise but we wanted to get a general idea of just what was out there. We left port at 6 AM and headed south to an area called the McDormand Patch, but were forced to go elsewhere when the fog shut in and we were glad we did! It wasnt' too far into the cruise when we spotted 9 whales in the vicinity and all were involved in surface feeding. We were able to determine that they were feeding on krill, a small shrimp-like crustacean. Once we documented and photographed the individuals, we headed further and found more humpbacks. As the day progressed we were able to record 39 individual humpback whales, including two mother and calf pairs! They were identified as Knuckles, Foggy and Vector. Other whales that we photoidentified and sighted for the frist time in 2007 were: Mallard, Stub (Who we haven't seen here in the Bay since 1988), Hopper, Sequin, Ditto, Dapple, Spy, Porthole, Bungee and Cat's Paw.
We also recorded a number of Pilot whales in the area as well. This species is not native to the Bay of Fundy but will occasionally wander into the area chasing prey. The most interesting behavior that we witnesses was when Sunburst and his companion charged after the Pilots, as if protecting their territory. Maybe there is a reason why these smaller toothed whales do not come into the Bay!

Sunburst chasing Pilot Whales

To top things off , Gremlin and Luna flipper slapped next to the boat and for the grand finale, Gremlin breached so close I could almost touch him.

I felt so fortunate that day to have a job that I love, where I can observe these animals in their own habitat and for them not to feel threatened by our boats. Things sure have come a long way since the whaling days when boat were a definite threat. Now these creatures can approach these boats, investigating the occupants within and not feel that threat, instead we are in awe!

Brier Island Whales and Weather

2007-08-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

Greetings whale watchers! The weather and whales have been excellent at Brier Island The last few days! Not only has the fog cleared......and hoping it stays that way.....but the whales have moved in as well. We have noticed an abundance of krill in our waters, which has been enticing the herring and the whales into our area. Not only are we seeing more humpbacks righ now but also more fin whales too! Fin whales are the second largest whale in the world, reaching lengths of 80 feet! Most of the humpback whales that we have seen have seen have been individuals that we have sighted previously such as Ase, Milkyway, Baton, Patch, Flame, Gondolier, Slumber, Raindrop, Foggy and her 2007 calf, Colorado and Patches. The above photo is of Foggy's calf. We have also documented some new whales for our area and they were identified as Calanus, Unequal, Mets, Iron and Zero. On a sad note Colorado was sighted without her calf. We had previously documented her with a calf in June but were dismayed when she was without. She was close by Foggy and her calf as if she wanted to be nursemaid. Sad!

Humpback whale named Ase.

Another treat has been sightings of the rarest large whale in the world, North Atlantic Right Whales. We were pleased to see a mother and her calf.

The birds have been very numerous with sightings of Puffins, Northern Gannets, Northern Fulmars, Wilson's Storm Petrels, Greater Shearwaters, Sooty Shearwaters, an occasional Manx Shearwater, Red and Red Necked Phalaropes.

Phalaropes in flight.

Whales Galore!

2007-08-10T05:05:00.000-07:00

Lunge feeding humpback whales

Last night was one of the best cruises that I have been on so far this year. There were plenty of humpback whales on Moore's Ledge due to the abundance of herring and krill. Whales could be seen surface feeding on the mixture. There was plenty of activity as well with breaching, tail breaching and tail lobbing.

Last week, we were able to conduct a short research cruise. It was quite productive as we documented two new moms for the area. They were identified as Shuttle (a local favourite) and Mocha. this brings our Bay of Fundy calf count to 13!

As always we are looking forward to the upcoming cruises, never knowing what they may bring!

Whales in the Bay of Fundy Fog

2007-07-31T08:03:00.000-07:00

OK, so where did all this fog come from? But not to worry, whales are still being sighted. It's always a bit intriguing to go whale watching in the fog. Usually on a clear day, we are looking for the spouts of the whales which can be seen a few miles away but on a day where the visibility is diminished, we have to rely on our ears to locate the whales. We go to the areas where the whales had been sighted on previous occasions, and shut down the engine and listen for the exhalation of the whales. Once heard, we then head in the direction from which is was heard and shut down again. This continues until we locate the whales. Though fog does make it more challenging, it is usually successful. Yesterday, we had thick, thick fog and we were able to watch 7 different humpback whales. The first two were adult females, who we identified as Lace and Touchdown. After watching Touchdown roll and flipper slap, we then watched 3 others who we identified as Churchill, Cloud, and Luna. Cloud has the distinction of being the oldest whale of known age. He was born in 1977 to Istar, who is now a Gulf of Maine grandmother! The last two whales we watched were Flash and her calf. So despite the fog, it turned out to be a very successful day!

Another calf arrives in the Bay of Fundy

2007-07-16T05:22:00.000-07:00

On July 10, Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises welcomed another mother and her calf to the Bay of Fundy. The mother was identified as Squiggle, an individual we have been sighting in the Bay since 1990. The arrival of Squiggle and her calf brings our total up to eleven, much better than our calf count in 2006 which was three! Usually in a season we average 4-5 calves but in later years we have seen that average increase as we are covering a broader range.

The calf swam beside its mother but entertained us in the meantime by rolling and tail lobbing (slapping the surface of the water). We obtained excellent photos of the calf's fluke print and dorsal fin so that we will recognize it when it returns to the Bay of Fundy.

On July 14, we were pleased to see a North Atlantic Right Whale move into the Bay. This species is critically endangered with only approximately 350 remaining in the world! The Grand Manan Basin in Bay of Fundy is a summer feeding ground for the majority of this population. Another popular feeeding area for them is at Roseway Basin, off Nova Scotia's South Shore.

Birth Announcement

2007-07-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

Foggy is one of the new mothers that have been sighted in the Bay of Fundy

The Bay of Fundy has become a bit of a nursery as of late with the arrival of ten humpback mothers with their calves. The moms that have been identified are Foggy, Flash, Colorado, Mirage, Umbra, Eclipse and Teo. There were three whales that we have not been able to identify. Foggy is special to researchers at Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises as we watched her grow to adulthood since she was brought here as a calf by her mother whose name was Bermuda. This calf is the third born to Foggy; her first, Sparkler, was born in 2000 and her second, Motley, was born in 2003. Her 2007 calf will not be named until it makes its return to the Gulf of Maine after it leaves its mother.

Humpback whale calves are born in the Caribbean after a 12 month gestation. They drink about 50 gallons of milk from their mother, gaining several hundred pounds per week. They stay with their moms for about a year after they have been weaned at the Northern feeding grounds.

There has been plenty of other activity as well. We have seen the humpbacks move in a bit closer to Brier Island. On one occasion, which was a research cruise, we watched as 4 adult humpback whales surface fed on herring. They would blow a column of bubbles and lunge through it with their mouths agape, taking in several hundred pounds of fish with each gulp. Humpbacks are baleen whales and use those to filter the food out from the water, much like a sieve.

There were also some curious whales, such as Orion, who approached us and spy hopped next to the boat as if he was doing the watching! It is times like this that we wonder who is watching who?

Humpback whale named Orion spyhopping next to our whale watch boat.

Sightings up to June 25

2007-06-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! It has been so busy on the Bay of Fundy that I can seem to get the chance to sit down and keep you informed as to what has been seen on our whale watching cruises! Which in a way is a good thing! Our cruises have been departing daily at 130pm. Each cruise has been a bit longer than usual as we have to travel a bit further offshore. No one seems to mind the travel time saying that once we get there, the sightings have been terrific. We have been going to an area called the Prong, a shallower area located about 18 miles northwest of Brier Island. The herring and other small schooling fish has been ample there, attracting large numbers of whales and seabirds. Of particular note is that we documented 5 mother and calf pairs in one day! We were only able to identify 2 of them; Colorado (Her first calf ever!) and Mirage.

Because the herring has been plentiful we have seen some activity by the whales as well. On one occasion, Three Dots, an adult female, entertained us by tail breaching and tail lobbing. It is thought that this may be a feeding strategy to concentrate the herring into tighter schools so that they can get more food at one time.

Three Dots tail lobbing!

There have also been a lot of birds in that area as well, including: Puffins, Greater Shearwaters, Sooty Shearwaters, Common Murres, Razorbills and Northern Fulmars.

Wilson's Storm Petrels

Sightings June 14, 15 and 16

2007-06-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

A humpback whale named "Scream"

Sightings have been excellent the last couple of days with Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises. On June 14, the Mega Nova set out on its regular whale watch cruise and headed toward the "rip", a shallower area where the Bay of Fundy tide is upwelled by ledges creating a soup of food for whales and seabirds. It wasn't long until we spotted the first spout, the whales's breath that resembles a plume of smoke rising from the surface of the water. We were able to approach the whales so that we could get a better look at them, however, they weren't going for deep dives so we couldn't see the underside of their tail to identify them. Because of those sightings we decided to go on a research cruise the next day to get identifying photographs and data on the humpback whales that were sighted. We saw the same whales as the previous day and were able to identify them as Luna, Orion, Flame, Magpie and Parrot. Other individuals that we documented that day were Maelstrom, Scream, Willow, Waterspout, Rope and Python. We recorded 17 humpback whales so there were some that remain to be identified.

The highlight of the cruise was when Scream, Willow, and Maelstrom approached the boat closely in curious behaviour.

On June 16, the fog shut in on the Bay of Fundy but that didn't deter us from whale watching. The only factor that dos is if there is a lot of wind. We returned to the same area and were able to locate three humpback whales by shutting down the engines and listening for their breath as they surfaced. Everyone was amazed just how quickly we could locate them using this method.

All in all, it has been a good week and the best is yet to come!

Whale Sightings up to June 9

2007-06-10T05:10:00.000-07:00

Minke Whale

Whale watching season has begun on the Bay of Fundy with Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises. Our first cruise was on June 2. June is still considered a bit early in the season but we still see whales and the most common sighted whale at this time are usually minke whales. It wasn't long into the cruise when we saw a splash in the distance, followed by several more. My heart did a little skip, thinking that maybe we were seeing a humpback but because of the absence of the long pectoral flippers, and the shape of the body, it was quickly determined to be a minke whale, the smallest type of baleen whale in the Bay of Fundy. Sightings of these whales continued up until yesterday. That was when our research boat, the Cetacean Search, did just that, it went on a search to find humpbacks. We did find 4 humpback whales about 18 miles from Brier Island. Everyone on the whale watch boat, Mega Nova, was elated at such a find. We did identify the 4 whales by their flukes. Their names were Peajack, Radar, Haze, and Handstand.

Humpback Whale named "Peajack"

Lobster Season Ends

2007-06-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

So while I'm waiting for the whale watch season to start, I thought I'd go out for the last day of the lobster fishing season in southwestern Nova Scotia. As a whole, I am hearing reports that it was not a great season with low catches, especially when the price of lobster was $15 per pound. The day was beautiful with light winds and calm seas. I didn't go on the first trip to get traps, that would have been at 5am. The first load of traps was unloaded by 10am and I jumped aboard to bring in the rest of the traps. I watched as each trap was landed and emptied of its catch. The traps were piled at the stern of the boat to be brought ashore to wait for "dumping day' of the 2007-2008 season. All in all, I enjoyed the day but much prefer watching whales...though I do like eating lobster!

What is photo identification?

2007-05-25T09:00:00.001-07:00

I mentioned in the last post that fin whales can be identified individually by the blaze and chevron that is on their right side. Whale researchers or cetologists use these patterns to gain information on a variety of factors such as population estimates, migration patterns, reproductive rates and site tenacity. The patterns are photographed and compared to species catalogues which have been compiled by research organizations. The whale is identified to see if it has been in the area on previous occasions or if it is a whale that has never been sighted before. In humpback whales, we look at the underside of the tail. These can be anywhere from all white to all black and variations in between. To identify right whales, the callosity pattern in photographed. This is found on top of the whale's head as well as their chin and lip ridges. Scarring is also useful when looking at individuals. Whales are also named and numbered. With humpback whales, the names are derived from the what the pattern on the underside resembles. For example, the whale at the top is called "Shark" because of the shark on the right side. The whale on the right is named "Obsidian" because of the black coloration.

Callosity pattern of a North Atlantic Right Whale

More Bay of Fundy Whales

2007-05-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

As we wait for the new season to start, I'll continue to write about the whales that can be seen in the Bay of Fundy off Brier Island.

Usually the next species to arrive after the minke whale is the fin whale, or finback as it is commonly called. This species is the second largest whale in the world, and actually the largest that we regularly sight in the Bay.

Fin whales are baleen whales that can reach lengths of 24metres, the largest ever recorded was 27 metres. They have been dubbed the "Greyhounds of the Sea" because they can swim very quickly at times reaching 35 kilometres per hour. They also are assymetrical in coloration. On their right side they have a pattern called the blaze and the chevron which interestingly enough is different for every individual whale. Also, their lower right jaw is white and if you were to look on the left side of the whale you would see that it is dark.

Fin whales can be found worldwide and in Canadian waters, they are considered a species at risk!

Bay of Fundy Whales

2007-05-14T06:37:00.000-07:00

One of the most commonly asked questions I get is, "What kind of whales am I going to see and how many?" Though I would very much like to predict that for you, I can only tell you what you may see. In May, the whales are only starting to arrive from their winter breeding grounds. Usually the first to arrive are the minke whales. This species is the smallest of the baleen whales, only reaching lengths of 10 metres.

This species is easy to identify as when they come to the surface, they don't have a visible spout when they exhale as the larger whales do. The first part of the whale that does surface is their pointed nose and fishermen gave them the name "little piked whales" because of that physical feature. Also, they have white bands on their pectoral flippers. Minke whales are seen worldwide and are the most numerous. It is estimated there are up to a million of this species in the world. Sadly, they are the only whale that is being commercially hunted today.

As for how many, baleen whales are solitary by nature so they are usually by their lonesome or if feeling social may be with one or two other individuals. These are temporary groupings and are not pods. The pods are formed by toothed whales who are in permanant group structures such as the orca who form family groups.

A New Boat for Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises

2007-05-09T06:58:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and welcome to our new blog! I'm hoping that throughout the summer I can keep you updated as to sightings in the Bay of Fundy and also any announcements we may have for you.

Our biggest announcement is the addition of the Cetacean Search, a 42 ft vessel that is jet propulsion, giving her a cruising speed of 22 knots! This will enable us to reach the whales much quicker and allow for more time observing them. The Cetacean Search will also serve as our research vessel and because of her speed we will be able to cover more area in a day. Also, because there are no propellers it means it is safer for the whales too!

Research and education are the main reasons we are in this field. The research is vital to the studies being conducted in the Gulf of Maine. Our area of the Bay of Fundy is not surveyed constantly by other organizations and they rely on data that is collected by others to fill in the gaps. We contribute annually to populations studies of the critically endangered Northern Right Whale and also Humpback and Fin whales. Our main focus of study is the humpback whale and we work closely with Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies and Allied Whale.

To those of you familiar with us, you know we had the Cetacean Quest. She is now in Newfoundland where she will be taking people to see icebergs rather than whales. Though sad to let her go, we are very excited with the new boat and we know you will be just as pleased!

We are looking forward to starting our new season. We are unsure of the start up date as of yet. We are anxious to get out there because there have been reports of whales by local lobster fishermen. From what I understand, there have been sightings of humpbacks and minke whales.